About Fiona
Fiona McWilliam
Fiona is the founder of Portobello Art School.
She grew up surrounded by creativity and has been passionate about art and teaching from a young age. Fiona completed a foundation art course in Edinburgh and studied clothing and textiles at the Scottish college of textiles. She went on to work in costume and film and even spent a formative year in San Francisco teaching costume and theatre.
On returning to the UK, she trained with the Rudolph Steiner School, focussing deeply on child creativity and development.
Fiona was awarded a PGDE from Moray House in 2007. Her teaching experience spans from art specialist teaching in many primary schools to years of teaching summer schools and teaching young learners and adults at Leith School of Art and Excel Academy.
Fiona brings warmth and art teaching expertise with an understanding of the power of art for our learners health and wellbeing.
Supporting us
Are a team of the most wonderful nurturing, creative staff who help keep us going.About Emily
Emily is our creative powerhouse, the queen of crochet and the king of the clay.
She brings kindness, enthusiasm and a deep understanding of the power of creativity for personal growth and development.
Emily leads our teen artist sessions, crochet classes for adults and children and many other creative sessions for adults.
Outside teaching, Emily is never without a creative tool in her hand, whether it’s a paint brush at Leith School of Art or a crochet hook at home.
About ROSIE
Rosie studied at Edinburgh College of Art, completing an MA in Fine Art in 2008, focusing on puppetry, animation and printmaking.
After working in schools delivering creative workshops and developing her own art practice, Rosie went on to study primary teaching, gaining her PGDE in Primary Education. She has since worked as a primary teacher and is also a qualified Forest School Leader, delivering forest school sessions in a variety of settings.
Rosie continues to work as a primary teacher alongside leading outdoor art sessions for Artbuds Collective and with us at Portobello Art School.
She loves working with children in the ever-changing outdoor environment, using the natural world as inspiration to create art and foster a deeper connection with our surroundings.
ABout CHIARA
Chiara is our adult educator.
She has worked in Graphic design for most of her life, more recently adding illustration and surface pattern design to her portfolio.
She trades as Guizzo for branding and illustrations, and teaches art classes for kids as Art Start Academy as well as selling patterns and art online.
Chiara completed art school in Italy and followed it with a diploma in Art Direction. She completed her studies with a series of short courses in Illustration at the College of art once she moved to Scotland over a decade ago.
Her passion for constantly experimenting with new techniques and materials equipped her with a constantly growing knowledge that she now happily shares with her students.